PDF of Kim Bookless's PowerPoint presentation at Chicago Self-Pubishing Group meeting on January 27, 2018

1. Kim Bookless
Publishing Consultant | Editor | Proofreader
January 27, 2018

2. 3 Questions Before You Self-Publish
Your answers will determine your entire publishing
process, including which self-publishing method is best
for you, how long the process will take, and whether you
should hire marketing help.
1. Why are you publishing the book?
If you want to put your book on the market, plan to
invest more money in editing/design than if you’re
writing a family history you don’t plan to sell.

3. 3 Questions Before You Self-Publish
2. What are your goals for the book?
! If you’re a professional and you want to self-publish a
book to give you credibility and market yourself or your
company, you’ll need to invest in top-notch editing and
design and have a solid book marketing and author
branding plan.
! If you’re writing a memoir for your grandchildren, you
can take a more relaxed approach to publishing.

4. 3 Questions Before You Self-Publish
3. How much money can you afford to invest in the
book?
The cost to self-publishing is impacted by the length of
your manuscript, the number of graphic elements, the
complexity of the layout, which formats (print, ebook,
audiobook, etc.) you’re publishing, and the service
providers you’re working with.

5. Budget considerations
! To self-publish well, you’ll need professional editors,
designers, and proofreaders, plus a solid distribution
and marketing plan.
! If you want to publish a print book, you’ll need to
factor in printing costs. Hardcover books or books
with color interiors can cost two to three times as
much to print as softcover books with black and
white interiors.

6. Budget considerations
! When you add up the fees for all the services, it may
cost thousands of dollars to produce and distribute
a quality print book.
! If you’re on a tight budget, consider starting with an
ebook; even better, postpone the self-publishing
process until you can save the money needed to
publish properly.

7. 5 Things Needed to Self-Publish Well
1. An entrepreneurial mindset and the ability to be
comfortable with financial and emotional risk
2. An adequate budget
3. The ability to find, trust, and work with good service
providers
4. Accepting that not everyone will like your book
5. The willingness and ability to consistently promote
yourself and your writing

8. 10 Steps to Becoming an Author
1. Writing the manuscript
! Write it on your own or (even better) with the help of
a writing coach or developmental editor
! Take writing classes, read books on writing, etc.,
before you start working on your manuscript
2. Manuscript review or full developmental edit
! Optional but highly recommended
! Best way to improve book’s content and marketability

9. 10 Steps to Becoming an Author
3. Copy editing
! Addresses grammar, spelling, punctuation, sentence
structure, and style guide compliance
! All books being put on the market need at least one
round of copy editing
4. Cover design (front/back/spine for print or front
only for ebook)
! Front cover is your best marketing tool
! Should have compelling imagery and easy-to-read text

10. 10 Steps to Becoming an Author
5. Interior layout for print book
! Should be done in Adobe InDesign, not MS Word
! Steep learning curve, especially if layout is complex
6. Proofreading
! Last chance to correct typos and design issues before
publishing
! Don’t skip this step – do it yourself if you can’t afford
to hire a proofreader

11. 10 Steps to Becoming an Author
7. Ebook conversion
! Create two ebook file formats: mobi file for Amazon
Kindle and epub file for all other ebook retailers
! Ebooks files are flowable and will look different than
your print book
8. Printing
! Print-on-demand (POD) is best for small quantities
! Digital or offset printing is best for larger quantities

12. 10 Steps to Becoming an Author
9. Distribution
! Print-on-demand (POD) is quickest/cheapest/easiest
! Expanded distribution MAY get you into bookstores but
no guarantee (not recommended for most authors)
10. Marketing
! Start early, preferably before publishing
! Author website is most important
! Consider blogging, social media, and traditional PR

13. 3 Levels of Editing Every Author Needs
1. Developmental editing
! Should be done by a professional developmental editor
with experience in your genre
! Usually happens after you complete a draft manuscript
! Often starts with a manuscript evaluation
! If fiction, will focus on plot, story arc, character
development, setting, point of view, pacing, dialogue
! If nonfiction, will focus on thesis, exposition, content,
organization, and tone

14. 3 Levels of Editing Every Author Needs
2. Copy editing
! Should be done by a professional copy editor
! Happens after manuscript content is finalized
! Focuses on correcting errors in grammar, spelling,
punctuation, word usage, and sentence structure
! Ensures style guide compliance (The Chicago Manual of
Style is the default style guide for books)
! Addresses formatting issues (headers, subheads, etc.)

15. 3 Levels of Editing Every Author Needs
3. Proofreading
! Should be done by a professional proofreader
! Happens after interior is designed and laid out
! Focuses on correcting errors in grammar, spelling,
punctuation, etc., that were missed earlier
! Also addresses design issues (ensures page headers are
correct in each chapter, page numbers are in place, no
odd characters appear that aren’t supposed to be there,
graphics are inserted properly, etc.)

16. 5 Tips for Working with Book Designers
1. Hire a professional book designer.
Make sure the designer has worked on books before. Book
design is a specialty. The best graphic designer in the world
may not be a good fit for you if he or she has not worked on
books before.

17. 5 Tips for Working with Book Designers
2. Give your designer specific information
At a minimum, a designer needs this info for an estimate:
! Final word count
! Number of images/charts/graphs/sidebars/textboxes/
etc., cover art (if any)
! Your book’s audience
! When you want to begin the design process
! Your desired publishing date

18. 5 Tips for Working with Book Designers
3. Carefully consider your designer’s advice.
The advice of a good book designer is priceless. Listen
carefully to what your designer advises, especially
regarding the trim size, front cover design, and
typefaces for the cover and interior.

19. 5 Tips for Working with Book Designers
4. Plan to pay half up front.
You’ll probably be asked to pay 50% of the estimate up front
and the balance at the end; unexpected design fees
sometimes come up during the project, so be prepared for
this. Your designer should inform you when you’re running
into extra design fees.

20. 5 Tips for Working with Book Designers
5. No final files until the bill is paid.
It’s standard for a designer to require payment in full before
releasing the final book files to you. Factor this into your
budget and publishing project time line.

21. 5 Legal Tips for Authors
1. Don’t use anything without permission.
If you want use anything in your book that you don’t own
the rights to (such as photos, artwork, poetry, etc.) get
permission in writing from the owner – or don’t use it.
Email permission is fine.

22. 5 Legal Tips for Authors
2. Buying it doesn’t necessarily mean you own it.
Paying an illustrator, photographer, etc., to create artwork
or take photos for your book does not automatically give
you the rights to use the work in your book. Rights must be
given to you in writing.

23. 5 Legal Tips for Authors
3. Register your copyright.
After your book has been finalized but before you publish it,
go to copyright.gov and register your copyright. It costs only
$35 and is worth your time/money; in cases of copyright
infringement, your defense will be stronger if your copyright
is registered.

24. 5 Legal Tips for Authors
4. Always read the contract(s).
Read and understand all service provider contracts before
signing, especially the parts pertaining to fees, deadlines,
revisions, distribution, royalties, and ownership.

25. 5 Legal Tips for Authors
5. Make sure you get your book’s source files.
If you publish a print book, make sure the contract specifies
you will own all rights to the files after the final invoice has
been paid and the project in complete. Also, make sure the
contract states you will receive not only the print-ready
PDFs needed for printing and distribution, but also the
book’s source files. The source files are usually Adobe
InDesign files; you will need them if you want to make
changes to the print book later.

26. 5 Legal Tips for Authors
For any legal questions pertaining to your book or the
publishing process, including copyright, fair use,
permissions, and contracts, contact an attorney,
If you’re in the Chicago area and need free or low-cost legal
assistance related to publishing, contact Lawyers for
the Creative Arts (LCA) http://law-arts.org.

27. 3 Ways to Distribute a Self-Published Book
1. Print-on-Demand (POD) distribution
POD is the easiest, cheapest, simplest, and quickest way to
distribute your book. The book isn’t printed until someone
orders it. You simply create author accounts at online
retailers such as Amazon CreateSpace, Amazon Kindle, and
IngramSpark; input your tax, banking, and publisher
information; add your metadata (keywords, BISAC codes,
etc.); upload your final book files, order your physical
proofs; fix errors, if necessary, after reviewing proofs; then
release the books for sale. No need to involve distributors,
print a bunch of books for warehouse storage, etc.

28. 3 Ways to Distribute a Self-Published Book
2. Expanded distribution
More complicated and financially risky than POD. A
quantity of books must be printed and stored in a
warehouse for order fulfillment. Expanded distribution
increases the possibility of getting your book into a
brick-and-mortar book store, but there’s no guarantee
of that happening, and no guarantee you’ll ever sell all
the books you printed up for the warehouse. Not a
good option without a very strong marketing plan.

29. 3 Ways to Distribute a Self-Published Book
3. Hybrid distribution
This distribution model claims to combine the best of self-
publishing and traditional publishing. Some hybrid
publishing companies produce the book for you and some
don’t. Hybrids usually have connections in traditional
publishing and they try to get your book into bookstores
and other places where self-publishing books are usually not
welcomed. Do your due diligence and vet hybrids carefully.
Read the contract and be sure you understand ownership
rights, royalties, fees, services to be provided, etc.

30. 3 Ways to Lower Your Self-Publishing Costs
1. Publish an ebook instead of a print book.
Ebooks are quicker, cheaper, and easier to publish than print
books. You’ll save money by not having to pay:
! The design fee to lay out the interior
! The design fee to create the back cover and spine
! The cost to order and ship physical proofs for review before
publication
! Printing costs

31. 3 Ways to Lower Your Self-Published Costs
2. Find good, reasonably priced service providers
! For editor/proofreaders:
! Editorial Freelancers Association http://the-efa.org
! Chicago Women in Publishing www.cwip.org
! For cover art: 99Designs 99designs.com
! For print/ebook interior layout: Vellum vellum.pub

32. 3 Ways to Lower Your Self-Published Costs
2. Find good, reasonably priced service providers
! Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), a Europe-based
author watchdog organization, maintains a list of vetted and
approved self-publishing service providers
https://selfpublishingadvice.org

33. 3 Ways to Lower Your Self-Published Costs
2. Find good, reasonably priced service providers
! The Independent Publishing Magazine reviews self-
publishing companies
http://www.theindependentpublishingmagazine.com
! The Creative Penn has recommendations for book designers
and many other service providers
https://www.thecreativepenn.com/tools/

34. 3 Ways to Lower Your Self-Published Costs
3. Proofread the book yourself.
This is not ideal, but if funds are low near the end of your
publishing journey, you can consider doing your own
proofreading. HOWEVER, you must be very diligent and
not skim it—go through it character by character to check
for errors. Don’t forget to check for design issues, such as
missing page numbers (print book), broken links (ebook),
etc. Doing your own proofreading works ONLY if you hired
a professional to copy edit the manuscript before design.

35. Publishing Resources
! Kim Bookless, Copy Editor / Proofreader kimbookless.com
! Bethany Brown, Publishing Consultant thecadencegrp.com
! Gwyn Snider, Book Designer gkscreative.com
! Jill Welsh, Developmental Editor jwelsheditorial.com
! Sara Connell, Author Marketing Consultant saraconnell.com
! Lawyers for the Creative Arts (Chicago only) law-arts.org
! Websites with great information for authors:
! thebookdesigner.com
! janefriedman.com
! thecreativepenn.com

36. Kim Bookless
Publishing Consultant | Editor | Proofreader
www.kimbookless.com
kim@kimbookless.com